Polygon Co-founder Sandeep Nailwal Assumes CEO Role at Polygon Foundation, Signaling Renewed Strategic Direction

In a significant leadership transition, Sandeep Nailwal, co-founder of Polygon, has taken on the full responsibilities of CEO at the Polygon Foundation. This strategic maneuver aims to instill clear direction and sharpen execution for the blockchain entity. Nailwal’s immediate priorities include bolstering the Polygon PoS and AggLayer initiatives, while simultaneously tackling existing hurdles such as the depreciation of the POL token and ongoing legal considerations, all with the goal of strengthening Polygon’s standing in the wider blockchain industry.

Nailwal’s appointment to lead the Polygon Foundation comes at a time when several of the company’s projects, including its native token POL, have faced challenges. Breaking from a prior decentralized governance framework, the co-founder revealed his decision to take complete control, becoming the foundation’s inaugural CEO. This leadership change, which sees Nailwal overseeing Polygon Labs and other ecosystem components, is intended to enable the organization to undertake “bold bets” amidst the competitive landscape of layer-2 solutions.

“A major development,” Nailwal shared in a detailed post on X, “as the primary holder of POL and someone who has devoted his efforts to the evolution and triumph of @0xPolygon since its inception, I’ve chosen to assume full oversight of the Polygon Foundation and will serve as its CEO moving forward. The Polygon Foundation manages various entities, including a key contributor, Polygon Labs, which will continue to be led by Marc Boiron (@0xMarcB) as its CEO—who, in my view, is the most exceptional executive or leader in the entire crypto sphere.”

The decision to install Nailwal at the helm of the Polygon Foundation follows a period where some of Polygon’s projects, including its POL token, have struggled, with CoinMarketCap data indicating an 80% drop from its peak value. Polygon, co-founded by Nailwal, Jaynti Kanani, and Anurag Arjun, had reached a valuation exceeding $20 billion during the last bull market. The company successfully raised over $450 million in early 2022 from prominent investors such as Sequoia Capital, SoftBank, and Tiger Global. Billionaire U.S. investor and Shark Tank personality Mark Cuban also made an undisclosed investment in Polygon in 2021, lauding it as an “ideal layer-2 Ethereum scaling solution.”

Commenting on these recent high-level decisions, Nailwal explained that he had historically avoided the CEO role, preferring to focus on establishing Polygon Foundation as an institutionally governed entity. However, he stated, “presently, Polygon requires decisive leadership and concentrated action, necessitating my increased involvement. With a robust treasury and substantial cash reserves amounting to hundreds of millions, we are well-positioned for long-term development, free from external pressures or the need to raise additional capital.” He further announced upcoming changes aimed at enhancing value for POL stakers and bringing greater clarity to the broader market.

Intensified Focus on Polygon PoS and AggLayer

Nailwal revealed plans to discontinue the Polygon zkEVM project next year. He emphasized, “Polygon’s sharp focus will be solely on Polygon PoS and @Agglayer, nothing else. Polygon PoS will concentrate on Stablecoin payments and Real-World Assets (RWAs), while AggLayer will dedicate its efforts to constructing a trustless ‘Internet of Blockchains’.”

He announced that the initial phase of Polygon PoS’s “Gigagas” roadmap is now live on the testnet. Polygon PoS is designed as a blockchain optimized for swift, cost-effective transactions for stablecoins and tokenized real-world assets. Nailwal indicated that the first upgrade, set for early July, will boost network capacity beyond 1,000 transactions per second, marking just the beginning. He added, “We already have a clear strategy to achieve zero reorgs and sub-1-second finality with over 5,000 TPS in a development environment. This will position Polygon PoS among the highest-performing blockchains by the September-October timeframe. Beyond that, our trajectory allows for scaling to 100,000+ TPS over the coming years. These enhancements will significantly improve the economic viability of the Polygon protocol, thereby increasing value for POL stakers.”

Regarding AggLayer v0.3, Nailwal confirmed its ongoing development and a planned rollout during the week of June 30. “This iteration of AggLayer is functionally complete, with the exception of fast interop, which we expect to finalize by the end of Q3. We are fully committed to a high-output development phase.” AggLayer serves as a mechanism to interconnect various blockchains, fostering a “trustless internet of blockchains.”

According to Nailwal, the AggLayer Breakout program will continue to foster new projects, contributing to a more concentrated focus on Polygon PoS and AggLayer, alongside substantial airdrops for POL stakers. “Our core business is building blockchain networks, and Zero-Knowledge (ZK) technology is a vital tool for achieving internet-level scalability on blockchains. We have made significant contributions to ZK and will continue to do so in a more impartial manner by spinning off additional ZK research initiatives. Up next is Polygon ZisK, spearheaded by Jordi Baylina (@jbaylina). More details are forthcoming.”

Addressing the company’s token, POL, Nailwal stated that with the resolution of legal uncertainties (such as the SEC investigation into MATIC), confidence and liquidity in Polygon’s new token (POL) are anticipated to improve. “Now that the SEC has concluded its investigations and lawsuits related to MATIC being considered a security—which, given the nature of MATIC (and now POL), should never have been initiated—we are pleased to see several major market makers re-engaging in recent days to facilitate market activity for POL, thereby enhancing its global exchange liquidity.”

He also mentioned that the Polygon Foundation will launch educational initiatives to ensure widespread awareness regarding the upgrade from MATIC to POL. Furthermore, the Polygon brand will be brought “front and center” for what was previously the neutral AggLayer brand. “It’s time to align the ecosystem more explicitly and boldly under the Polygon identity.” Nailwal also indicated that future significant announcements from Polygon would frequently originate from his Twitter account.

Rationale Behind the Leadership Shift

The Polygon Foundation CEO explained that during 2021-22, Polygon made a concerted effort to institutionalize the project by bringing on “exceptional individuals” as co-founders and board members, laying the groundwork for scaling Polygon from a growth phase (10-100) typical of a venture. “However, I did not foresee that Ethereum itself would enter an existential crisis, pulling Polygon and the entire Ethereum ecosystem back to a nascent stage (1-to-10 or, by some metrics, even 0-to-1).”

Characterizing the “0-to-1 stage” as fundamentally different, he noted its demand for speed, the courage to undertake audacious bets, and the capacity to manage setbacks. “Moreover, the crypto industry has evolved from being research-driven to user-centric, and Polygon must adapt accordingly. Institutional structures and board compositions, while beneficial for stability, tend to result in average outcomes—not the decisive, aggressive actions needed to achieve exponential results.”

According to Nailwal, Polygon has effectively reverted to a “zero-to-one startup” mindset. “With the unwavering support of an incredible team at Polygon Labs, and strong leadership including Marc (@0xMarcB), Mudit Gupta (@Mudit__Gupta) (CTO), Ryan (@web3RyanN) (COO), and many others, we are prepared to deliver.”

Responding to a user’s inquiry on X, who questioned if he was attributing Polygon’s “failure” to make substantial progress to Ethereum, Nailwal stated that the past year has been “extremely difficult” for the entire ecosystem. “Not entirely, Sir. We in the Ethereum ecosystem collectively recognize that we are in a challenging situation; ignoring this was a major error for which we have already paid a price. We are making improvements, but the past year has been very tough for the entire ecosystem; I believe this is undeniable.”